2010 Recap

Even though I wasn't working two jobs, like I did last year, the first half of the year kept me very busy at work, to a point where my mother was helping me with lunches and cleaning.  In the summer, we hosted a Japanese student. Then things slowed down and I was able to finish some quilts. I also reviewed several books for some companies who were willing to send me complimentary copies of their books in exchange for the review. I also did a great deal of genealogy research.

This year I decided to show not just the finishes, but quilty things I have worked on. It makes the recap look better because there is more stuff on it, and it also gives you a better idea of what I have been doing in 2010. Here they are, in no particular order.

The snowflake coasters were my latest little project. I am keeping these for myself. I also turned a couple into ornaments for the tree.

I made these tissue holders as holiday gifts.

This vase was a project that was abandoned before this year, but finished in October 2010.

Four of five quilts I made for the Quilts for Kids charity. The fifth one looked like the red black and white one, with panda bears on it, and was done in 2009. This charity took a great deal of my time in 2010, but apparently I did have enough time to have other finishes as well.

This is the very first oil painting I made. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to paint with my family. I have it sitting on the book, so you can see the inspiration on the right. The color of the water was actually mostly from the turpentine that we were using to clean our brushes.

The pirate map is an unfinished project for 2010. Our Japanese guest helped with some of the motifs.


The little flag wall hanging was started and finished in 2010. It was simple to make, but I am particularly proud of it because of the quote quilted on it.



This is a sample block I made for a big idea I had. The idea will work, once I get started on it. I tried to finish this block into a project, but it didn't work well. I am hoping that like the vase, I will manage to finish it at a later date.



Since joining Kathleen Tracy's small quilt yahoo group, I have been tempted many times with these little quilts. They are really fun to make. In this one, I limited myself to one small scrap box, to give myself the challenge that people in olden days would have had.  I particularly liked using scraps for this one, and remembering where each one came from.

The African Circles quilt was my first project I started and finished in 2010. It was my goal to finish everything I started this year. It hasn't completely come true, but I have made great strides. And I gave myself permission to simply play - like with the red and white kaleidoscope block and the blue and white blocks below. They were never part of a project, and a great start to an orphan block quilt.

One of these blocks started out as a beginning of Kate's round robin. I still want to do the round robin, but the block, and the additional ones I made are now part of the orphan block collection. I will probably make a small quilt out of these.  I think it is amazing at how the same basic shape can look so completely different based on how it is put together.

The Cheddar Cheese and Crackers was started early in the year, and is a work in progress. It is a pattern by Lori from Humble Quilts. It is being hand quilted. The cheddar fabric isn't playing nicely and isn't laying flat, so it has me worried, but hopefully I will be able to quilt it into submission. It has taught me that I am not capable of hand quilting a big project though!

This is my last finish for 2010. I like this one the best of all the quilts I worked on this year.

The Simply Squares quilt was an impulse quilt made from newly purchased fabric. The top is made.  I was going to try to finish this one for 2010 as well, but I think my quilts look quite impressive for the year, so I won't stress myself out trying to finish it this year.